First published 2012
Robert Childan runs an antique shop in Japanese-occupied San Francisco, selling authentic American artifacts to his new rulers. The Nazis control the eastern United States while Japan governs the Pacific coast. Slavery has returned. Jewish survivors live under false identities. Citizens consult the I Ching for daily decisions as readily as they once checked phone books. Twenty years after America's defeat, Childan navigates this divided nation where swastikas fly over New York and Japanese officials determine his fate. When he encounters a mysterious novel depicting an alternate history where the Allies won the war, the boundaries between reality and possibility begin to blur. Dick explores how people adapt to unthinkable circumstances and whether history's nightmare grip can ever be broken.
Genres: science-fiction, dystopia, historical-fiction, alternate-history
Vibes: dark, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: alternate-history, dystopian, political
Setting: San Francisco, New York, Pacific Coast, United States
Period: 20th Century, World War II
274 pages · Paperback · Mariner Books Classics
Content warnings: racism, slavery